A U.S. naval strike group guided by the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier was heading in the direction of the Korean Peninsula this Sunday with the intention “to maintain readiness” as Kim Jong-un’s North Korean regime gets ready to mark key anniversaries in the following weeks.
In honor of the 105th birthday of founding president Kim Il Sung, the country is planning to hold a massive military parade this coming Saturday to celebrate. Additionally, a commemoration of similar proportions is expected for the 85th anniversary of the creation of the Korean People’s Army on April 25th.
Analysts project the continuation of the recent volley of missile launches, especially seen over the past few months. Additionally, activities regarding North Korea’s known nuclear test location have prompted concerns that Pyongyang may have a sixth nuclear test in the works.
Over this past weekend, the nation declared that it did not fear military strikes similar to those launched by the United States on Syria last week. North Korea continued on to declare that it was confident it could defend itself with its “tremendous military muscle with a nuclear force.” Thus also raising alarm in relation to the nation’s confidence regarding their aptness for nuclear war.
In this circumstances, the Carl Vinson strike group—consisting of a carrier air wing and 2 guided-missile destroyers—was deployed to the “Western Pacific.” Upon leaving Singapore on Saturday, the group was headed for Australia before receiving the new orders.
Dave Benham, a spokesman for the Pacific Command, declared, “The U.S. Pacific Command ordered the Carl Vinson Strike Group north as a prudent measure to maintain readiness and presence in the Western Pacific.”
According to the Agence France-Presse news agency, Benham also said, “The number one threat in the region continues to be North Korea, due to its reckless, irresponsible and destabilizing program of missile tests and pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability.” Thus maintaining that North Korea is currently a serious spot of concern for the U.S. government.
The Vinson group partook in joint drills with the South Korean military this past March to prepare for an unexpected change on the peninsula. Sudden changes include events of the nature of the collapse of the North Korean regime or an invasion.
North Korea has been experimenting with medium-range missiles over the past few months, and Kim revealed in January that North Korea had “entered the final stage of preparation for a test-launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile” able to reach the mainland of the United States. Trump, naturally, responded via tweet saying: “It won’t happen!”
According to the South Korean leader’s office, this past Saturday, Trump informed South Korea’s acting president, Hwand Kyo-ahn, that he had engaged in “in-depth discussion about North Korea’s serious nuclear problems and how to respond to them” during his summit meeting with Chinese President Xi jinping, which took place last week.
Due to recent developments in Trump’s foreign affairs policies, fearful speculations have developed regarding the impending actions in North Korea. Analysts believe that North Korea be next, when taking into consideration Trump’s threat to act alone if China continually refuses to rein in North Korea and his seemingly abrupt choice to launch airstrikes on Syria this past week.
Secretary of State Res Tillerson stated in a visit to Seoul last month that “all options are on the table,” in relation to the United States’ approach to North Korea, including use of military force. U.S. administrations have historically avoided even pinprick attack on North Korean nuclear sites or missile targets out of fear for the potentially horrific damage that could cause in South Korea.
North Korea possesses conventional artillery massed on its side of the demilitarized zone (DMZ) that bisects the Korean Peninsula, enabling it to wreak catastrophic damage on Greater Seoul, a metropolitan area inhibited by 20 million people that’s located a mere 30 miles south of the DMZ.
North Korea’s Foreign Ministry published a statement this Sunday stating that the U.S.’s attack on Syria was “absolutely unpardonable as it was an undisguised act of aggression against a sovereign state.”
A statement released by the state-run Korean Central News Agency declared that North Korea will not be “frightened” by the U.S. strike on Syria. The strikes displayed why North Korea has a tangible need for nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them, according to the same statement. It continued saying, “We will bolster up in every way our capability for self-defense to cope with the U.S. evermore reckless moves for a war and defend ourselves with our own force.”
Featured Image via Wikimedia.
